Using Minecraft in the education: A compilation of my favourite classroom projects

It is well documented how using games in a classroom context can facilitate collaborative learning, promote problem solving and stimulate an engaging learning environment. One methodology that demonstrates all these elements is Game Based Learning.

What is Games Based Learning?

Not to be confused with Gamification, Game Based Learning (GBL) is the process of using games to achieve a defined set of learning outcomes. Games that generate data e.g. Kinect Sports or Mario Kart, are ideal for teaching Maths and Statistics. Games that tell as story are great for developing creative writing. Puzzle games can develop problem solving and physics based games such as Angry Birds can be used to explain velocity and momentum.

For example, you could play part of a game and ask students to describe what they saw and what they heard. You could ask students to write a story about what happens to the character next or to create a character of their own – complete with biography. You could have a race and record the lap times and use them to work out mean, mode and median or use a game to start a Socratic debate.

One game that seems to optimise all these elements is Minecraft.

What is Minecraft?

Minecraft is a sandbox game where players have to build structures, fight monsters, hunt for food and gather resources in order to survive.

How to use Minecraft in the classroom

There are several applications for using Minecraft in the classroom from supporting literacy to teaching mathematical concepts. Below is just a few of my favourite examples:

Minecraft: Pi Edition is a version of Minecraft that’s designed to work on the Raspberry Pi - a cheap credit-card sized computer designed to help you to learn programming. The Pi edition has the added feature that you can program it using either Python or Java and is intended as an educational tool for novice programmers. It is available to download for free, from the official downloads page

According to the official website: "MinecraftEdu provides products and services that make it easy for educators to use Minecraft in the classroom. MinecraftEdu make a special version of Minecraft specifically for classroom use. It contains many additions to the original game that make it more useful and appropriate in a school setting."

MinecraftEdu also offer a cloud-based solutions for schools for hosting Minecraft classroom servers so students and teachers can connect and play together securely. MinecraftEdu also hosts a library of lessons and activities that are available for free as well as a teacher community exploring uses of Minecraft in the classroom.

Using Minecraft to teach Computer Science theory.

For those who don’t know Ray Chambers, Ray is a Head of Computing / ICT and Microsoft Innovative Expert Educator. Ray is also an evangelist Computer Science and has developed some innovative approaches to teaching Computing in the classroom. One example of this is teaching logic gates using Minecraft.

Holy Trinity School in Barnsley have been using Minecraft to develop literacy skills, particularly for reluctant and disaffected learners. Using the game as a stimulus, students write creative accounts of their adventures in the Minecraft world they have created, write instructions for other students and create biographies of their characters. Work is then published on a blog, giving students the opportunity to network with other schools. This develops key skills such as literacy, analytical skills and how to be a responsible digital citizen. The work of Holy Trinity School recently featured in a BBC news report, you can read the follow up article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-27936946

Using Minecraft to teach History

History can be fascinating, but sometimes difficult subject to engage learners, especially when students have to memorise important dates or key figures. Amy Landisman is just one pioneering educational practitioner who demonstrates how Minecraft can be used to explore a historical period in depth and bring history back to life.

In one of her lessons, Amy uses Minecraft to explore the history of Ancient Egypt.